The Barrington Hills Observer

Resident will now be assessed the actual costs of Zoning Board services rendered to fulfill their requests.

Monday evening the Village Board of Trustees approved updated fee schedules for, “Zoning Matters,” and overweight vehicles.

We applaud this move, especially considering it was revealed that at some point the Village ceased charging fees beyond only the standard application fees for Zoning Board services such as (and especially) attorney’s fees. While we believe our Village should not be operating for profit, it definitely should not be operating at a loss providing legal, consulting and other services at nearly no charges until now.

A partial section of the newly updated fees reads:

“Zoning Fee Schedule*

• Appeal $1,000
• Text Amendment, $1,500
• Variation $1,000
• Map Amendment-Any District-Permitted Uses Only $1,500
• Special Uses $1,500.

*Additional Expense: The fee includes the initial review by staff and the village attorney, public notice (if applicable, 1 time), and Zoning Board Meeting (1 meeting); additional fees may be charged at the discretion of staff in the event an application is extensive, requires additional reviews beyond those stated or the application submitted in incomplete and requires multiple reviews.

Additionally, the Zoning Board of Appeals and/or the Village Board may utilize the services of professional consultants for research, investigation, and professional opinion, for assistance in arriving at recommendations or decisions.

The applicant whose request to the Zoning Board of Appeals or Village Board requires the use of such professional services shall reimburse the Village the reasonable cost it incurred for the services rendered by its consultants, within fourteen (14) days of transmission of the invoice by the Village or prior to the next meeting, whichever is sooner. The consultants shall bill for their services at the same hourly rate that they normally charge municipal clients. The Village consultants shall include but not be limited to the persons who provide the Village with advice in the fields of engineering, law, planning, traffic, design, and finance.”

The ordinance can be found here.

Editorial note: This Ordinance was approved by a vote of 4-2 with the Village President abstaining. When the meeting recordings are released, they will reveal one trustee who participated remotely was nearly hysterical apparently because she did not believe she had adequate time to conduct her usual “analysis paralysis” on the subject (always with little or no benefit) before voting.